AP Photo/Matt Freed

The Rundown: Cubs Extirpate Pirates Thanks to Bethancourt and PCA, Hendricks Struggles Badly, Rich Hill Back in Bigs

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 29, 2024

“As long as you’re groovin’, baby, there’s always a chance.” – Marvin Gaye, Got to Give it Up

I promise to never disparage the Cubs’ bullpen after watching the Pirates implode in the final three innings of Wednesday’s game. Chicago entered the 7th inning trailing Pittsburgh 10-3 before an offensive onslaught led them to a 14-10 win. Headlining the comeback effort for the Cubs was catcher Christian Bethancourt, who drove home seven runs, six in the final three innings. Bethancourt started Chicago’s rally with a two-run homer off Kyle Nicolas in the 7th and then doubled home two more runs in the 8th off Aroldis Chapman.

Amazingly, Pirates manager Derek Shelton elected to walk Pete Crow-Armstrong to load the bases in the 9th, and Bethancourt responded with a two-run single to put the Cubs up 11-10. It’s hard to blame Shelton since Crow-Armstrong was 4-for-4 entering that at-bat, but Bethancourt was unstoppable in clutch situations. The journeyman catcher finished the afternoon 3-for-5 with seven RBI. By the way, Bethancourt had seven RBI in 88 plate appearances before joining the Cubs. He replaced Yan Gomes, who plated seven runners in 96 plate appearances.

The 32-year-old Panamanian backstop had a little extra motivation in that final at-bat.

“I had one guy yell at me really loud behind home plate, ‘You stink!’” Bethancourt said. “That went through my mind and I was like, ‘You cannot stink this time. You gotta make him shut up.’ That’s what I did.”

Welcome to Chicago, Pedro Cerrano!

Most of us would have been content to leave Pittsburgh with two victories in three games. Paul Skenes started for the Bucs, after all, and a win is nearly a foregone conclusion when he toes the slab, especially when he’s staked to a seven-run lead. Then again, the Pirates may have the worst bullpen in baseball. As for Chicago, Tyson Miller and Porter Hodge continue to look like an unflappable late-inning combo. I’d say Craig Counsell has his 8th and 9th innings locked up in 2025 if both relievers remain with the Cubs.

Wednesday’s win is one of those games that portends a last-gasp push for the playoffs, but it camouflaged another poor outing by Kyle Hendricks. The Professor gave up six runs on eight hits with three free passes in 1.2 innings. He exited the contest with a 6.75 ERA in 102.2 innings and has allowed 14 earned runs over his last three starts. Counsell may want to skip Hendricks down the stretch if he believes his team still has a shot at the postseason.

Despite the win, the Cubs still trail Atlanta in the race for WC3 by 5.5 games. The North Siders are 21-15 (.583) in the second half, and though they’ve won nine of their last 12 tilts, they’ve been unable to gain any ground on the equally hot Braves. Chicago is off today and will head to Washington D.C. for a three-game weekend set against the Nationals. Atlanta starts a four-game series in Philadelphia tonight against the team with the second-best record in all of baseball. There is no time like the present for the Cubs to cut into that lead. The Mets, who stand between the two teams, play the Diamondbacks today before heading to Chicago to face the hapless White Sox.

Cubs News & Notes

Odds & Sods

Did you ever wonder why the White Sox struggle to draw fans to Guaranteed Loss Field? Shame on Jerry Reinsdorf, but he is reaping exactly what he has sown.

Ball Four

“Who is gonna come and turn the tide? What’s it gonna take to make a dream survive?” – Simple Minds, Alive & Kicking

I’ll continue to believe the Cubs won’t make the playoffs until they prove otherwise, but there’s a lot to look forward to next season. Crow-Armstrong will be the center fielder and possible leadoff hitter whether Cody Bellinger stays or leaves. The bullpen is younger and throws harder. The rotation is tough as nails and will be even better with the additions of Cade Horton and Ben Brown. The lineup has length but still needs a left-handed banger to pair with Michael Busch. Depth pieces will arrive through the minor league pipeline instead of the waiver wire.

I’m still not happy with Jed Hoyer, and I’ve fallen into the trap of believing in next year too many times. Still, the Cubs should be much more competitive in 2025. I know Juan Soto will never come to Chicago with Hoyer in charge, though I wouldn’t mind seeing the front office take a run at Anthony Santander. I’m also not sold on  Parades, but I’m willing to see how he responds to a full season with the Cubs.

Bellinger, Dansby Swanson, Jameson Taillon, and Javier Assad are the keys to the offseason, but prospect depth will play a big part, too. Few believed Marcus Stroman would opt out last year though I never doubted it. I’ll do a 180 this year because I believe Bellinger will stay with the Cubs once he’s allowed to exercise his right to free agency. Insiders believe his decision could go either way. Taillon, Assad, and a few prospects are potential trade pieces. Swanson needs to put this season behind him and never look back. The Cubs can’t consistently win if he performs below league average offensively.

One last thing: Do we prefer Nico Hoerner or Matt Shaw at second base next year? I don’t see a path for Shaw as a third baseman with the additions of Paredes and top pick Cam Smith. One of Hoerner or Shaw will probably be traded this winter.

Don’t Let Go the Coat

The Diamondbacks were 57-59 last year on August 11 and went to the World Series. You may now enjoy this wonderful song by The Who while calculating your magic numbers.

Central Intelligence

How About That!

The Astros signed the recently-waived ex-Cub Jason Heyward, which should quell the whispers that he might return to Chicago. I wouldn’t count on the Cubs signing Michael A. Taylor, either.

Decoy, the dog owned by Dodgers superstar Shotei Ohtani, had quite a night in Los Angeles and even upstaged his owner.

The NL Central could have as many as three new managers in 2025. Only Counsell and Pat Murphy appear to be safe.

The White Sox can’t win even when it appears they can’t lose. The South Siders have lost six straight, and are 3-15 since snapping a 21-game losing streak.

Rich Hill is back in the bigs with the Red Sox, nearly two decades after making his MLB debut.

John Smoltz favors a rule that would require a six-inning minimum for starting pitchers.

Exit, Stage Left

Today marks the last day to waive players and have them still be eligible for the postseason with their new club. The waiver process takes two days, and players who join a new organization after the calendar flips to September are not eligible to participate in the postseason. The Cubs placed Drew Smyly on waivers earlier this week, though it appears he cleared. Mike Tauchman and Patrick Wisdom are also waiver-wire candidates.

Extra Innings

I’d like to thank Chicago’s coaching staff for finally delivering the PCA we were promised. The rookie is “en fuego,” right now (apologies to Dan Patrick for stealing his line).

They Said It

  • “I don’t know how you can play better than [Bethancourt’s] played. He’s been sparingly [getting] at-bats. And every time he’s in there there’s extra-base hits, there’s RBIs, there’s throwing out runners. He’s been unbelievable. How could you play better than he’s played since he’s been here?” – Counsell
  • “Felt so much better than my last start. So just one of those days where it’s baseball. It happens. Stuck with it pitch to pitch, did what I could. But just baseball at the end of the day. So, so proud of these guys.” – Hendricks

Thursday Walk-Up Song

A stone groove instrumental from Billy Preston that you don’t get to hear too often.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 29, 2024
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